My pulse is pounding in my ears, fueling this desire to go home even more now to see her.
Fuck.Have Ibeen blinded by this woman?
Am I missing something?
My gut is telling me no, but my head?
That fucker likes to stir shit up, and apparently, so do my friends.
***
“What’s with the look?” Daniel asks Chief Banks as we sit in the debriefing room before shift changes. And even though our boss always has a crinkle in his brow, this one’s a little deeper than normal.
The chief hoists his pants up on his waist, surveying the room. I’m at my usual seat in the back, waiting to hear what he has to say.
“I’ve been getting a few calls from people around town—Mrs. Higgins, Ned down at the hardware store, and even Carolina at the bakery has mentioned this.”
Jake sits up taller in his chair. “What’s going on?”
“Apparently, there’s a man that’s been hanging around town for the past few weeks asking questions. None of the business owners have been able to get a good picture of him without him noticing, but he’s being described as around six feet tall, jet black hair with gray at the temples, and wearing the same tan Carhartt jacket.”
“What kind of questions?” I interject.
“Stuff about the town, job openings, and cost of living, etcetera.”
“That doesn’t sound too alarming,” Brody says.
The chief shakes his head. “I didn’t think so either until someone said they saw him hanging out by the school.”
“Okay…” I drag out.
Chief Banks throws his hands in the air. “I’m just letting you know about the calls I’ve been receiving.”
“Sounds like you’re reaching,” Jordan says. “I know things are quiet…”
“Goddamn it, Jordan!” The chief yells. “Haven’t I made myself clear about using the fucking q-word?”
The sound of metal screeching echoes in the room as I stand from my chair, pushing it backwards. “All right,” I say. “Let’s approach this rationally.” Chief Banks glares at me, but puts his hands up in surrender. “It’s better to err on the side of caution. Just keep your eyes open for this guy and approach him carefully if you see him. He’s probably just a tourist interested in life here, contemplating a move or something,” I add, partially trying to convince myself. “You know how people are that visit Blossom Peak. They fall in love with this place and suddenly are considering small-town life, only to go right back where they came from.”
Daniel nods in agreement. “You’re right, Rhonan. Better safe than sorry.”
“Thank you, Rhonan, for helping me try to get these knuckleheads to see reason,” the chief says to me before turning on his heel and heading for the door. “Glad to see someone else doesn’t want a situation to occur that could have been prevented.”
Once he’s completely out of the room, Jordan turns to all of us. “Is he all right?”
“Who knows,” Brody replies. “Could be that the state is breathing down his neck to retire.”
“Where did you hear that?” I ask.
“I’m surprised you haven’t heard about that yet,” Brody says as a smirk forms on his face. “Although you seem to have been distracted by a certain blonde lately, so I guess you have a legitimate excuse.”
“I’m not distracted,” I say a tad too defensively.
Daniel comes up behind me and slaps me on the shoulder. “I’m pretty sure it’s a good thing, man. You certainly have a pep in your step that hasn’t been there in a while.”
“Yeah, that’s what getting laid will do for you,” Brody adds through a laugh.
I step up to him, getting right in his face. “Don’t speak about Vienna like that.”
